Infection
by Phoenix Dreamer Star
Summary: Marionette becomes deadly ill, transforming into a darker version of himself, in an effort to keep himself from hurting his friends in pure hatred and loss of his true self, he outcasts himself to the junkyard, wanting death to rid the world of him. He then meets Ennard, who is also a corrupted being as a result of a similar infection. (Rating could change later to M)
1. Part I A sign

**I've been busy. (Exams are right around the corner. What the hell am I doing writing fanfiction, reading gay smut, drawing characters, playing Nefarious for two hours-)**

 **Anywhere I've had this in mind for a while. I did show some concept art for this AU. Basically the main characters will Marionette (from FNAF 2), Ennard (Sister Location), Lefty, Music Man (Both from Pizzeria Simulator and Ultimate Custom Night). Other characters will be present.**

* * *

 **Part I**

 **A sign.**

* * *

It had appeared. Marionette gasped. After he came out of the shower. A nice warm shower. One of the simple mere human like pleasures he enjoyed. One of the few actually. He barely enjoyed any human related activities.

Yet having a shower... even having a bath.

It was so strangely calming and therapeutic.

Being surrounded by steam, the water just running, like a calm steam. Nothing would equal to anything like this.

However his face felt strange for most of the duration of the shower, numb in a particular section on his left cheek. He came out and dried his raven black and white hair, he stared at the mirror, his eyes grew wide.

It was a crack. He shakily rose his hand and stroked his finger over it, it had the texture of a crack, he pressed it down, he exclaimed "ouch" when he felt a jagged piece of porcelain stab into his jaw. He drew away his hand, keeping it away from the area but still near his face, his fingers hovered over the area in pure loss and fear. He stared at it. His face never had cracked in the past but he took it as a bad sign. As a magical man, anything on your face that appeared for no reason was not a welcomed sign.

He opened the medicine cabinet and dug out a bandaid, he peeled off the paper pieces he gently pressed the sticky onto the crack, covering it, for now. He smoothed it with two of his fingers and looked at it. It wasn't out of mind, but at lease no one else would be worried about it. He walked out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his torso, looking visibly pale, he returned to his bright room, the light irritated him, he growled in displeasure. It felt like the light was frying his own brain, so he waved his hand, it glowed purple as the curtains responded and drew themselves closed, sealing out the sun and putting the room into darkness, he snapped his right hand's fingers, as they clicked, his overhead lantern like-light illuminated the room in a more pleasant and less eye-hurting-so-much-I-wanna-kill-it way. He dressed, putting on dark grey boxers and putting his fluffy dark grey dressing gown on. He planted himself on his red chair in front of his vanity mirror, staring at the area where the bandaid covered the crack, his eye darted to his bookshelf, he rose up his first finger and curled it inwards to his palm.

A book from the shelf flew over to his hand, he opened the hardcover book and flipped through the pages. Nothing about cracks appearing on the face. If he didn't find another less obvious way to cover it up; Teddy would question it.

He was already thankful that Teddy Fazbear, younger brother to both Frederick and Bear Fazbear, had hired him despite his nature and the fact he was a man of magic rather than reality. Teddy dismissed that in favour of this job. Teddy would be concerned if he had a bandaid on his face without a proper reason, he'd need a solid lie that would:

Number one: not give away the fact he had a crack on his face.

Number two: not make Teddy inclined to ban him from doing magic.

Marionette spent a few more hours in his room, when Chi told him he needed to get ready for work, he locked the door with a simple wave of the hand and announced he wasn't feeling well. Of course then Teddy came to the door to check on him. He jumped into bed and unlocked the door.

"Well you are awfully pale."

"I'm always pale." Marionette told him dreadfully.

"What happened to your face?"

"I needed a muscle sample, I took it from my cheek."

"Well... I don't do it again." Teddy sternly warned and walked away.

That was close. He resumed reading to find the cause of this, he was frustrated after going through over ten books, ten thousand pages of information that was useless. Nothing about cracks, how to fix them or what could cause them.

He looked at the far right side of his dark red wood bookshelf and saw a black book with a golden metal border. It had a lock on it.

A forbidden book he muttered.

His former teacher had given the book for safe keeping, he told Marionette to never open it. That said teacher died many centuries ago. Marionette kept it on his bookshelf so it looked normal. If he placed it anywhere else, it'd just draw too much unwanted attention. He took the book into his hands and went over to his bed, he sat crosslegged and stared at the cover.

A red pentagram.

He started to hear whispers. They all urged him to open the book, to unlock it. Normally Marionette would take this as a bad sign and lock up tighter in a vault and throw away the key into the ocean and let it sink. But he never saw what was inside the book. He closed his eyes and summoned the key, a small rusted silver key appeared in front of him, he lifted it gently and plunged it into the lock on the cover, the chains around it broke. Marionette gently placed them on his bedside table and opened the front cover.

Immediately he was hit with demonic symbols.

Luckily he knew the language and he knew how to translate it.

"A contents page. That's useful." His finger levitated over the topics listed that were contained in the book. His finger stopped at the topic "CURSES AND CORRUPTION"

"Gira a pagina duecentocinquantasette." He whispered as the pages turned themselves in front of his eyes to the start of the topic.

"Curses and Corruption are closely linked. A magic user can be cursed by many means. For example another magic user, their own hand/spells, an artefact... Corruption can often be a result of a curse and may physically alter a person's look, sometimes cracks are stated to be a sign of corruption as a result of a curse..."

Corruption.

Marionette froze.

Corruption.

He didn't know anyone who survived Corruption.

There was no cure.

Marionette shot up from bed and went straight to his desk, he opened his large wooden case of chemicals and began to search for anything, he placed aside rare ingredients, finished potions, scribbled notes on parchment paper. This couldn't be how he ended. How did he get cursed anyway?!

* * *

FYI-

Marionette will often speak spells in Italian.

Some characters in this story will also speak different languages at time. I've debated on possibly having Maestro (My human version of Music Man in this story) speak German. I'm still thinking of it of course.


	2. Part II Sick

**Part II**

 **Sick**

* * *

Marionette fainted onto his desk exhausted when Teddy found him, concerned he hadn't answered when Teddy told him dinner was ready and he wanted the man to join them for the meal then a movie. He opened the door and reached in to switch on the light, Marionette clearly had passed out on his desk, various notes written in a foreign language were below him. He lightly shook his shoulder, he saw drool dripping from his chin, it was a purple colour, which concerned Teddy a bit. However he did remember at that moment that Marionette was a magic user and some of his bodily fluids may look different from what normal people had.

"Wake up." Teddy lightly spoke, Marionette's shut eyes moved upwards slightly in annoyances before they slowly opened, he blinked a few times and lifted his head from his desk.

"Theodore?" He asked. Teddy was really use to people always calling him by his nickname, however he wasn't use to always hearing Marionette address him as his proper first name. His brothers called him by his nickname, he also called them by their nicknames "Freddy" and "Gold".

"It's dinnertime."

"What time is it?" Marionette questioned rubbing his eyes.

"7:30pm. Are you feeling okay? I was hoping you'd feel better." He frowned.

Marionette suddenly felt sick to the pit of his stomach, like a rock had been dropped into his gut, he retched as vomit crept up into his throat. He pushed his fingers to his throat, forcing it back down, with a disgusting taste.

"Marionette?" He asked.

"I'm gonna be sick." Marionette spoke trying to stand up and get away so he wouldn't puke there.

But he did.

He lend over and vomited on the floor. It was thick, burning purple and black slime. All over Teddy's shoes and pants, and on the floor.

"Oh fuck." Marionette cursed.

"You're clearly not okay."

"What gave it away?!" Marionette hissed snapping his head up, "The fact I threw up like a fucking child or I had been asleep at my desk since 10 this fucking morning?!" He burped and the feeling came back. Before he got another word in, he slipped down to the floor and vomited again. Teddy called out into the hallway for help. He got his handkerchief from his pocket and lifted Marionette's head up. He had lost strength, Teddy saw how pale he had turned, even his eyes seemed to lose their glow a bit.

Teddy wiped away the vomit from his lips and then pulled him to his feet, he then lifted him up and carried him to his bed. He pulled the blanket over him, Marionette clutched tightly at it, sleep did seem like a really good idea now.

Marionette was out by the time Bonbon came in with some cleaning supplies. Teddy and Bonbon quietly worked to clean up the mess, then they closed the door behind them as the left.

Teddy was a bit worried about Marionette admittedly. He tried to act like his oldest brother and not care unless profits were greatly effected, but Marionette had never gotten ill in the ten years he had worked at the pizzeria. Even at dinner, Chi, Mangle, Luke, and Daisy noticed something was wrong.

"Alright. I'm declaring from now, until the time comes. That no one is to force Marionette to work unless he shows sights of recovery. He's never been sick before so we need to let him recover." Teddy informed them.

"He's never been ill... Do you think he'll have to go to the hospital?" Mangle asked.

"Maybe. If he doesn't show great improvement or gets worse, I'll call a doctor to come see him. There's no way we can take him into public."

* * *

Mangle was busy folding up clothes, she separated Teddy's long sleeved shirts from Bonbon's short sleeved baby blue shirts, Chi's fluffy skirts and her own large pink hoodies. Some short thin locks of her pale pink hair came out of her twisted bun on the back of her head, they hung loosely and swung when her head moved. Her soft lemon coloured eyes were wide with wonder, her milky white skin was softly complimented by a light soft rosy pink blush on her cheeks with a red liquid lipstick product on her thick lips.

She smelt one of her socks, inhaling the scent to check her theory, Marionette was right in his formula. Her clothes smelt like roses. She liked his simple chemicals to do things like this. She liked it when they smelt good. A smile graced her face, her perfect pearly white teeth were exposed to the world to see.

She wondered if his illness had came as a result of a spell backfiring on him. She hoped not, she frowned, he enjoyed doing magic a lot and he only uses it for selfless purposes, like speeding up healing time, erasing bad memories, keeping away nightmares. He never used magic against someone, not even for a joke. She placed down her sock and found the matching yellow and hot pink striped sock and curled them together so they wouldn't get lost.

The only time she witnessed him actually using magic on someone was for good. It was two years ago, when Teddy was on the roof doing repairs, he completely lost his footing on the damaged panel he removed and skid down, gripped by utter fear, his eyes wide as his body flew off the roof and rocketed towards the ground. His caramel coloured hair blowing in a thick wad behind him, sweat coated his face, his throat felt squeezed, no words, not even a scream escaped his mouth. Marionette only noticed because he finished digging out weeds and turned to place them into a big black garbage bag, his eyes widen as he saw the likely possibilities of Teddy landing on the ground would be him shattering his back, his femur jabbing out his muscle and fat tissue, blood pouring from his mouth. Time slowed down to the mere milliseconds, Mangle clasped her mouth as she watched from the vegetable garden with her pink gardening gloves and small shovel, believing it would end in tragedy. There wasn't enough time for her to run to attempt to catch him and even doing so at the time could have also badly hurt her.

Marionette threw out his hand so swiftly it was a black and white striped blur, a symbol appeared in his flatten palm and Teddy stopped mid air, then Marionette gently lowered him similarly to how Mary Poppins would slowly drop down from the sky and onto the ground softly without an injury. Teddy uttered small sounds of disbelief in shock.

She believe Marionette did actually have an ability to levitate, only when he was falling he could active it. Most of his powers didn't appear unless there was a reason, like when a fire began in the kitchen. Marionette licked his left palm and pressed his bare hand onto the flame, stuffing it out and extinguishing it, when his hand rose again, a single swirl of dark ash grey smoke rose up then disappeared. No damage was left by the fire. Teddy was astonished and looked around in disbelief asking if anyone else saw, everyone just stood in complete shock and quiet. Marionette then went back to prize corner as if nothing had happened.

She hummed as she placed the clothes into separate piles, she takes her own clothes and brings them back into her room. She wants to know what'll happen to Marionette, she couldn't disturb him but since he barely gotten ill as long as she had known him. It was a concern. Maybe he was just overworked, maybe he needed a holiday.

Maybe they all did.

"When was the last time Marionette went on a holiday?" Mangle asked Teddy as he began to organise things for the morning, he was sweeping up around the stage.

"I dunno. He's never asked for one."

"He's never asked?!" Mangle jumped back, "Theodore I hate to say but this violates the contact he took."

"Violates?!" Teddy looked startled, clearly he forgotten the contact he has written for Marionette.

"I memorised it. Marionette is entitled to one month of paid vacation time every year. If he's never had a holiday no wonder why he's so tired!"

"Well... I uh... had asked. He wasn't interested." She knew Teddy was telling the truth, out of the three brothers, he was more forgetful. She already got the vibe of strict nature from Bear and Freddy was firm yet caring, always writing things down and pinning them on a board in his office down the back of his pizzeria.

"The contact stands and that could put us in financial trouble if the CEO found out. It doesn't matter if Marionette is not interested. He is suppose to take time off."

"I guess we can do that from now."

"No, no, when he wakes up."

"But he doesn't like other people running prize corner you know that." Teddy shook his first finger in her face, her eyelids lowered as she shook her head and clicked her tongue in disapproval.

"I can do that."

"And still be in Kid's cove?" He questioned, "It simply can't be left unattended."

"How about we invest in a proper locked cabinet for the prizes?"

"That's too expensive. Plus Marionette can deal with anyone who accepts to steal."

"Not when he's out cold. He's been asleep for about a day now. Whose to say he won't be asleep for a few more days?"

"Well what can I do?! Hire someone else?!"

"That's what I was thinking."

"WHAT?!"

"We'll give Marionette the rest of the year off and hire someone to manage the prize corner!" Mangle smiled.

"We need to do security checks and we-"

"You're avoiding."

Teddy stood with his jaw dropped, "I-I am not!" He exclaimed frustrated she was undermining him, and all just because she was older than him!

"God you're just as bad as your oldest brother."—He went cold and stiff when she compared him to his brother— "Look, remember back when you were looking for someone for kids cove and you chose me? I looked over the resumes of most of the applications you considered, they had already had security checks, all we would need to do is a final check by the CEO, his approval and yours, and we'll ask the person if they still need a job."

"Marionette won't be very happy about this..." Teddy huffed.

"I think I know what we can do to force him to get some fresh air. There's an convention for magic in Paris in six months. We can see if he'll wanna go."

"How do you know that?"

"That was in the mail Teddy. So should we do that?"

"Fine. But make sure there are absolutely no flaws with this new person. I give final approval okay?" Teddy sternly pointed his first finger at her. Mangle nodded.


	3. Part III Distract

**Part III**

 **Distract**

* * *

Marionette opened his eyes, he felt like his eyelids had been fastened to 50 tonne weights, the world was black, then in slow fading effect, his room came into focus. He was in his bed. He had been asleep for a while. His mouth was dry, he rubbed his eyes, his fingertips trailed over his cheek, a sharp string ran through his system. He clenched his teeth in pain, he then paused when he heard a crackling sound that disturbed him. His tongue moved about his mouth, along his flat teeth, one at the front felt wobbly. Peculiar, he thought. His teeth had never been loose.

He summoned a mirror in front of him and looked at his face, which was a pure white now, he then touched the area where the bandaid was covering the crack. He tugged at the corner and peeled it away, he stared at the small crack, then in a sudden blink of an eye, it got larger with a disturbing slash sound. His eyes widen. He whimpered. He summoned a new larger bandaid and slapped it on. He remembered he was sick.

How long ago was that?

He stood up, an overpowering dizziness washed over him and he collapsed back into bed, he grumbled and he looked around for where his boots where. He only saw his flat fluffy dark grey slippers. They glided across the floor to where he was, he sat up and turned to the edge of his bed, he slipped his feet in and stretched out, he heard his bones crack. He took off his white shirt and went to search for something else to wear. But when he took it off, he noticed a black stain on the front roughly the size of a mango. Ink?

He looked down at his pale torso and gasped, his breath was snatched away when he saw a black mark, his muscle and flesh has been destroyed, it was dripping inky black. He touched the wound. It was sticky with a thick gooey black liquid. He rubbed a bit of it in between the pads of his fingers, it had a disgusting texture to it. He summoned a bandage roll with a fluffy cotton sheet and dragon powder.

It'd dry the liquid out Marionette recalled as he sprinkled the dark red powder onto the wound. He pressed the cotton sheet onto it and used the bandage roll, he wound it around his torso and tied it neatly onto his back. He opened his wardrobe and pulled on a plain red shirt, he slipped on some jeans and buttoned them on. He then opened the door and walked down the hall to the dining room, he saw Teddy was at the table drinking coffee, Luke was sitting there eating cereal, no doubt getting ready for school, Chi was serving up some pancakes. He walked over, barely making a sound, then everyone stared at him like he grew a second head as he sat down.

"What?" He asked kinda annoyed everyone was staring at him like he was a monster at the freak show.

"Are you feeling better?" Teddy asked sounding slightly skeptical.

"Yes I am. I'm ready to get back to work."

"Marionette. Me and the CEO have decided you need a holiday. You've never had one. You need to take a break for a while."

"That's not for you to decide."

"You've been asleep for a month."

"WHAT?!" He barked as Teddy sipped his coffee.

"We had to hire someone else to manage the prize corner."

"Well now you can fire him."

Teddy never liked when Marionette showed very little empathy to people. He shuffled uncomfortable in his seat, he didn't like arguments where he felt like it could have been avoided. "Not until you have a holiday."

"I don't want a holiday. I need a task."

"I order you to go on holiday. There's your task."

"I'm older than you in case you didn't notice and I don't have basic human needs. I do not need a break."

"The company says you do. I don't want you to get fired."

"Great. I love being threaten." Marionette nodded, " _ **You'll pay for that**_ **.** " He lowly hissed beneath his breath.

"So we have decided we can fund your trip to Paris for the magic thingy."

"How do you know about that?"

"It was in the mail."

"Going though my mail was not in my contact Theodore."

Marionette only said Theodore in that particular tone when he was annoyed. It was true usually Marionette refused to call him Teddy because according to him "nicknames drive the purpose away from a given birth name. You won't answer to your birth name if everyone calls you by a nickname. Besides what if the nickname is derogatory?"

"I-I guess not." Teddy knew not to piss Marionette off. He would would hold it against him. Like the time Bonbon had used his magic to enhance his makeup and in return Marionette had sabotaged his shampoo and eyeshadow. Causing his hair to turn black and his eyeshadow to glue his eyes wide open. Marionette shrugged as Bonbon whined in pain. It was the reasons that his oldest brother had advised against hiring him and even Freddy was wary of him, he knew the person who had trained him in magic was a very aggressive man who took no shit and wouldn't hesitance to annihilate anyone who rubbed him up the wrong way.

Marionette signed, reaching up his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, "I suppose if you're forcing me on a holiday... I'll work on some spells."

"I also want you to get fresh air too."

"Well... the weather conditions are perfect for the Aurora Borealis to be viewed. I guess I can take a quick trip to Alaska for a while."

"That's great! But be careful."

"Like I said Theodore. I'm not needy like a human."

* * *

Marionette was in the shower again. He removed his bandaid and tried to clean out the cracked area and the blacken leaky wound. He then rubbed his neck to bring his hair away, he paused when he felt a gap. He froze and turned off the water. He ran out the shower still dripping wet and went to the mirror, he turned his back, tore his hair out of the way and glared down his back.

Another crack.

It was getting worse. He was running out of time.

And the nerve of Teddy! He wanted to take a holiday!

He should be working to find a cure! He should be working to get a cure!

He threw his hand at the mirror, breaking it into fragments. He panicked and used magic to repair it. He then went back to the shower and sunk down to the floor, wanting the darkness to just consume him, that would be painless.

* * *

Late night writing+playing FNAF 2 while eating a bowl of vanilla ice cream+listening to the FNAF Christmas Song=this.

FYI-Luke is technically Balloon Boy, it is the same with Daisy, who is his sister. They were both adopted into the group by Teddy, Luke is 10-12 (I haven't decided), and Daisy is younger, about 7 or 8 (Once again, I have not decided).

Also I don't know if any one knows but I did some concept art for this AU and that's how this FNAF fanfic came to live, it's on my DeviantArt page, links are usually dogdy here, it is still displayed on my profile, my username is the same there as it is here.

I might put this story there in the future.


	4. Part IV Denial

**Part IV**

 **Denial**

* * *

Marionette woke up tired and cranky. Teddy told his group he was going to see his brothers for the day so they had to be wary of him since he wouldn't be around to manage him. Marionette seemed unpredictable now and that worried Teddy greatly, he couldn't be like that around kids simple to say.

Teddy arrived at the Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria and walked in, his two older brother were already at a table in the dining room having coffee.

Gold looked less like either of them, with dark pointed golden hair, dark brown eyes with a blue suit. He had the type of attitude that would make adults quack in fear at speaking directly back to him, he always seemed to be in a bad mood. Despite their relationship, Teddy felt like Gold was more of a scolding fatherly figure, maybe because their father died when they were all really young and Gold felt like he had to be that figure for both Freddy and Gold. Teddy couldn't figure it out, neither could Freddy in the end.

Freddy had blue eyes and chocolate brown coloured hair which curled at the ends above his neck. He had his famous black with a white ribbon top hat placed on the round table before him. He owned this pizzeria, Freddy Fazbear's, which was usually closed in the early hours, Teddy knew most of the workers here was what he called "Night Owls" they often were doing stuff when it got really late, Foxy, (who was almost like Mangle at Teddy's pizzeria, would provide alternate entertainment for children), in particular would usually be up and down after closing time and apparently he had trouble staying asleep so he was awake nearly all night. Freddy often stayed behind after closing hours to do his final bits of paperwork. That's how committed he was to keeping his business stable.

"How are you Teddy?" Freddy asked, he slid over a mug of hot chocolate to him. Teddy wasn't a coffee man, he rarely drunk it. Freddy had two cups a day and some ginger tea before bed. Gold, however was a pure coffee addict, drinking about five or six cups in a day.

"I'm fine..."

Freddy frowned, "You're clearly not. What's on your mind?" Freddy asked as he took a small sip from the lukewarm hot chocolate. He wiped his mouth with his finger and took in a breath.

"Marionette."

"Did the puppet act up?" Gold questioned, staring at his coffee mug as he gripped the handle between his thick fingers.

"No... he's unwell."

"Maybe it's a virus. Foxy has a virus a few months ago." Freddy reassured him.

"Maybe... but I worry, he's never been ill before. Never asked for a day off. Always worked as hard as anyone else... Well I guess maybe a few weeks off won't hurt... besides. This new guy we hired... he's okay. Good with the kids. Doesn't talk back. Always on time. He's very sweet."

"So fire Marionette." Gold told him.

Teddy frantically shook his head, "No! I c-can't do that! That's so cruel! Too cruel and mean! I'd never fire him! He's too sweet and he needs this job!"

"I fire anyone who displeases me." Gold snapped.

"Well that unreasonable." Teddy reasoned.

"He fired someone once cause they didn't fold the napkins right, that's why you don't have a place anymore." Freddy dismissed Gold.

Gold's fists cracked, "You know the real reason why my restaurant is no longer open and I will not tell you why!"

Teddy never knew why Gold's pizzeria closed down about ten years ago, it was a matter that was never discussed, Teddy was young when it closed down, it was obvious Gold never wanted to speak about it, he knew just after the place closed, he heard Gold crying when he visited his brother once.

Gold took a long breath and stared at Teddy, "So put him somewhere else."

"Maybe I could take him for a while." Freddy suggested.

"He loves our home... loves it... so much."

Freddy tapped the side of his mug, "You're unsure what to do. Maybe Marionette could need "professional" help." Freddy said.

"I don't want to do that... he's already mad I told him to take time off."

Freddy took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, "I know with magic beings like them. They prefer not to take time away from tasks. It drives them insane, some even tumble into depression and commit suicide feeling completely worthless."

"I don't want that..." Teddy spoke, "What should I do?"

"Just... be carefully little bro."

* * *

Fuck.

 **Fuck.**

 **Fuck.**

It was everywhere. The crack on his back had opened up and black sticky liquid began to ooze out in large quantities, tickling his legs in an unpleasant way when the thick lines slid down and hit the floor. He had to take off his pants before they stuck to his skin. His chair was already ruined along with the pants. He had to burn them. He tried to press down the crack and focus his magic to the area so he could accept to heal it. But the liquid came in thicker quantity. He screeched in pain and shut his eyes, collapsing to the ground. He was shaking as the pain overran him, he never truly felt pain and wondered how humans adapted to feeling these sensations when they stepped on a lego or nicked their fingers with a sharp knife.

"Marionette?" He heard a voice, he couldn't regain footing, his feet refused to work.

"Go away!" He yelled trying to shift his arms so he could pull himself up.

"What's going on?!" Mangle answered frighten coming near him.

"I told you to leave me alone!"

"Whatever you need I'm here! I'm here! I'm not leaving. You've never been sick! I've been worried about you!"

"W-Where's Theodore?" He asked, for a minute, his voice dropped in pitch, it sounded more demonic, raspy... less like him.

"He's gone to Freddy's... Should I call him?"

"No. Don't tell anyone else- Aah!" He shrieked when a powerful sting ran up his spine as he tried to use his strength to force himself upwards.

She kneeled down and looked him in the eye, she saw such hurt and confusion in his eyes, a clear tear came down and that's what did it for her.

"I want to help you. Tell me what's going on, if you know."

He could trust Mangle, unlike many others he met before, "Corruption. Don't know how. There's no cure. It's like cancer a bit. It's changing me. I'm going to turn into a monster."

She bit her lip, "How long?"

"I don't know. But I don't think I'll make it all the way to Luke's birthday."

Luke's birthday was three months away. She stared at him unsure of what to do.

"Can you just leave me alone?"

"No. I told you I want to help, so how can I?"

Marionette was silent for a minute, he just stared at her without blinking, he took in a long shaky breath, "Can you... help me to the bathtub please?" He asked.

"I can do that." She grabbed both of his hands and pulled him to his feet, she held his shoulders as she steered him to the bathtub. She lend down to turn on the tap.

"Can you also get some things from my room?" He asked.

"Sure what?"

"The jar of red powder labeled "Dragon's Powder" and a blue vial labeled "Angel's Mix"."

"Angel's...?"

"Not real Angels. It's what I call it. It's a potion I made. It's like pain relief."

"Oh."

* * *

Mangle was busy with her patchwork quilt when Marionette re-emerged from the bathroom, he sighed and explained a lot. The corruption would eventually make him too weak, he wouldn't be able to walk, he wouldn't be able to move, he could even die because his breathing muscles could become paralysed. If he was lucky to survive pass that stage, he'd completely forget who she was and most likely in frighten confusion, he'd kill her, massacre countless others who would attempt to approach him.

Mangle asked questions in return, she still asked how much time he think he had. He wasn't very sure, his skin felt fragile like glass, his teeth felt like nails in his gums, his tongue was so dry it stuck to the bottom of his mouth. His vision was becoming washed out into greyish shades.

"You can not tell anyone. I am doing work on a cure. That's why I can't take time off."

"Isn't there somewhere you could go to do your work privately and quietly?"

"No. Since my teacher died, I have nowhere. If I attempt to enter Purgatory, I will be claimed by the monsters inside, I can't go to heaven. I'm not an angel. If I go to hell, they will turn me evil."

"So Hell and Heaven do exist?"

"In a sense yes... but Hell isn't ruled by one figure, same with heaven. It's ruled by seven people. One that represents the sins."

"You mean like Lust and Greed?"

"Exactly. Heaven is ruled by angels that represent good. Whereas in Hell you'd have Greed, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Pride, Wrath and Sloth. In Heaven, there's figures that represent good qualities, like purity, kindness, innocences, acceptances, respect, loyalty, and courage."

"So the devil doesn't exist?"

"Technically the history of hell is that one evil man had seven children, each one represents a deadly sin. Lucifer, whom is usually mislabelled as the devil, represents pride. If I dare step foot in hell, he will temp me instantly. Magic users are forbidden in heaven but in hell, they love to manipulate them. Being as powerful as I am, I would draw the attention of someone like Lucifer, Asmdeous, Satan or Mammon. It's a big risk. The corruption also is. Only a demon could have casted it on me, and they have to know what I look like, but when I was young, I had the protection of an angel called Charity. Heaven only sends angels to magic users when they are young, when they are more likely to be targeted by demons."

"That's pretty intense."

"All of it is. I should keep it open."

"Why?"

"It might be easier to cure my corruption if I can pinpoint the demon who cursed me."

"You shouldn't have to do that. You won't die."

"Yes I won't die but I'll forget you-"

"Then we'll figure something out! I'll read to you everyday, from the photo albums and your spell book! You'll remember!"

"Mangle... are you a stupid bitch that fails to concept what **I'M SAYING?!** " He barked, once again, his voice dropped sounding demonic and threatening. Mangle looked visibly frighten.

"You can't interfere is what is already written. I am searching for a cure, you're job is shut up and forget this interaction happened."

" **...Or I will skin you alive.** " Marionette wanted to say but he caught it before it transferred out into words.

He didn't need to frighten her when he still had his sanity and control.

* * *

Note: I'm following Binsfeld's classification of demons. In which the following are stated.

Lucifer=Pride

Satan=Wrath

Asmdeous=Lust

Mammon=Greed

Leviathan=Envy

Beelzebub=Gluttony

Belphegor=Sloth

 **Chapter 5 will come out any point between later this month, early next month, the rough time frame I would give is anywhere between the 22nd of this month to the 15th of March, I really love writing this story but I don't want to forget my other ongoing stories, which I all want to receive at lease one update by the end of April.**


	5. Part V Deceit

**Part V**

 **Deceit.**

* * *

A month passed and everyone noticed Marionette was getting worse, his body had become so thin that when Daisy greeted him after going to school by hugging his leg, she noticed it was cold and unwelcoming, despite he was wearing long pants at the time. More cracks had appeared on his back and stomach. During his time off, he had a bit of a routine— be lectured by Teddy why he should not skip breakfast, listen to Mangle telling him she made a good meal for him, reading the forbidden book, falling asleep, vomiting, cleaning it up, failing, Chi having to clean it up with a dirty look aimed at him, turning down food, going for a bath, chemical research, sleep, wake up at 3 and vomiting again, feeling a dull ache, awake all night, repeat next day.

His tongue was so dry now he was having to drink a lot of water, he needed the toilet quite frequently as a result. He honestly just moving between his room and the bathroom now. Teddy asked about a doctor, Marionette declined to get a doctor but Teddy kept insisting he needed a doctor to check him out.

What he needed was some fucking peace and quiet. It began to really annoy him.

It was the first time he turned to the scale in the bathroom, really only Chi used it, and it once drove her to anorexia. He was taking note of his weight every day, he was rapidly loosing weight, he also gained the habit of measuring out his body, his upper torso, his stomach, his hips, thighs and calves. He was loosing it quickly, but food didn't appeal to him. He hadn't actually kept food down in ages, his body didn't cry out for food, even having his own stomach acid in his body made him feel bloated and sore, he found when he pressed his hand down on the area where his stomach was, he would feel the sudden urge to vomit, even if he didn't have anything in his stomach, he'd exhaust himself dry heaving, Teddy usually gave him a funny look when he saw Marionette dry heaving with a bucket in his hands. Sometimes he did vomit and it was a dark ash grey colour.

He barely got into clothes anymore, he usually wore his pyjamas and the fluffy robe he usually wear when he came out from the shower.

Now Teddy put down three slices of cheese pizza in front of him as he worked. Marionette watched as he stepped back then sat on his bed with his arms crossed over his torso.

"I'm not leaving until you eat." Teddy declared with his brow frowned, he was trying to command authority over Marionette. "You're loosing too much weight. I've noticed, everyone's noticed. I don't know if you're just neglecting food for some stupid reason, but not working is not an excuse to start showing this behaviour. I have not seen you eat for two weeks. Eat."

Marionette stared at the pizza, even the sticky thick smell hitting his nose was unpleasant.

"I'm not hungry." Marionette told him, "I'll eat later."

"You'll eat now! That's an order! Or I'm putting you on suspension until you do! I dealt with Chi and her behaviour in neglecting food, I'm not getting that from you. You will eat this at lease."

Marionette banged down his fist, "You're using my position as a threat. I don't need food."

"Stop lying to me. I am boss, if you don't eat now I'm sending you to hospital and they'll force feed you!"

If he went to hospital he couldn't work, by the laws of magical binding, his magic wouldn't work within a hospital's walls. That was likely to increase his risk he'd die. He stared back at the pizza, he imagined how disgusting it would be, it'd run down his throat like molten magma and settle in a big concrete block in his gut.

Marionette reached his hand out and grabbed one of the slices, lifting it to his lips, he groaned quietly in disgust. He slowly opened his mouth and took a small nibble at the tip. Teddy frowned and shook his head as he stared at him.

He took a much bigger bite, he coughed as his dry mouth was greeted by slimy cheese. Teddy didn't blink just in case he used magic, Marionette finally swallowed the whole thing. He stuck out his tongue in slight disgust. Completely unpleasant.

"You're just being unreasonable-" Teddy scolded as Marionette lend down in his chair and puked on the floor. His stomach wasn't use to having contents in it. Teddy's eyes widen, "Are you okay?"

"This is your fault! Go away!" Marionette yelled at him wiping his mouth.

Teddy left the room feeling conflicted, he used strong authority as his oldest brother said and it backfired.

"I'm not a maid just to let you know." Chi snapped at him.

"I know that." Teddy told him.

"Then why do I have to clean up his messes?"

"Either you do that or you have to clean up the kitchen."

"Ew. No." She said.

"How does your half sister feel about your behaviour?"

"Chica barely speaks to me anymore."

"Wonder why." Teddy looked away from her, he heard her growl in frustration. He only met Chica three times but it was clear there was some tension from the half sisters. A bit alike to how his brothers Freddy and Gold would bicker frequently.

He took a long breath, "Marionette is going to get better-"

"But what if he doesn't? We might need to hire Yoru Dāku full time."

"We're not doing that just yet."

"We should keep the opinions open."

"Yes, we should." Teddy nodded, "But I'm not firing Marionette, even if we hire Yoru full time."

* * *

Mangle worked a pretty tiring day, three parties in one day, all the singing, smiling and having to teach young children to sort arguments via friendly conversation rather than fighting. She had a toddler smear cake on her cheek, a child threw pizza at her shirt and someone grabbed at her hair with their spaghetti covered hands. She needed a shower.

She was worried about Marionette.

Everyone knew he wasn't eating, Mangle was going to ask if she could go out to get some ingredients to make triple chocolate biscuits.

"Mangle?"

She turned around and saw Yoru, not that she hated him but his presences was a reminder Marionette was not managing the counter, however he had been a great employee and no complains had arisen.

He would be considered fairly attractive to women, in fact Mangle had seen some of the young teenaged employees ask if he had a girlfriend or if they could go out. He politely turned them down telling them he would be too old for them.

He brushed apart his black hair from his brown eyes and looked at her, nervously tapping his fingers.

"Do you know where Theodore is?" He asked.

"No. Do you want me to get him?"

"That'd be good."

* * *

"What is it?"

"Theodore I'm not sure I should be asking but... I need more money.. I'm on the brink of loosing my apartment. The pay is good but once I pay for groceries, medicine and everything else. Not much is left. And you say I could come to you if I ever had a problem."

"Medicine?" Teddy asked watching his reaction, he blinked and looked down at his feet.

"I did say I have PTSD. I take medicine to manage stress, anxiety and depression. I'll be homeless by the end of the month if I don't pay."

"Say no more."

"So you'll give me a pay rise?"

"No. I'll let you live here."

"What?! You don't need to do that..."

"Some of my employees live here, like Mangle, she lost her home in a fire and couldn't afford a new place to live. So if you need to live here for an undetermined period, you're welcome to move your stuff in, I'll organise a room for you."

"Really?"

"I care about the employees."

"You're the best boss I've ever had Theodore."

"Call me Teddy."

Yoru being allowed to move in was a shock, three days later, he was at the table having breakfast, eggs and bacon. Mangle made sure he had enough to eat for the day smiling and humming to the early radio's music tunes. Marionette finally appeared just before opening time.

"Good morning." Mangle chirped, "Here. I made these just for you." She offered a plate of triple chocolate biscuits.

"Darn it you know I can't resist those."

"Your grandma's recipe perfected by me." He took a single biscuit and shoved the complete thing into his mouth. A deep string ran through his jaw and he froze.

"Do you feel sick?!" She barked worried. He shoved his fingers into his mouth and searched for what was causing the deep throbbing pain in his gums, he ran over what felt like a thorn and he gently yanked it. It came out with such ease and he looked at what he had pulled out.

It was a single tooth. Mangle also stared at it.

"Are your... teeth suppose to come out?"

"No." He answered.

"Are you sure you don't want a doctor?"

"No. I'll be fine." He answered.

"I presume you are Marionette. It's nice to meet you." Yoru gave a nice smile to him. Marionette frowned at him, Yoru extended out his hand and Marionette lightly grabbed it. An overpowering dizziness stuck him in the head and he pulled away his hand, looking at it as everything turned to darkness.

* * *

...

...

...

"Marionette!"

...

"...wake up..."

...

"...he's just getting worse... consider all the opinions."

"...refuse to believe that Teddy!"

"Marionette?"

That wasn't his name, why were they saying that? It wasn't his name. He regained everything, it seemed grey and it was like looking through thick frosted glass.

That girl with the pink hair. What was her name?

Something beginning with M...

Or was it N?

She looked kind and caring, she looked like a Maggie. Maybe she was Marge?

"Mangle just leave him alone."

Fuck. He was actually forgetting.

"You fainted. We'll leave you alone okay." Theodore told him, he stared at him as he nodded and left his field of vision taking Mangle with him. Marionette was looking about his room, then he collapsed into sleep, he was going to a point of no return.

* * *

 **Oh I forgot to mention in the previous chapter!**

 **Infection finally has a cover!**

 **It's a unique image I spent two weeks doing, I was so exhausted afterwards I forgot to point it out previously, as of now, you can find it on my DeviantArt Page, where I will post the cover and actually explain why it took so long (I won't put a link up here sorry, because this website is very dodgy with any links).**

 **The latest the next chapter will be out is mid April.**

 **Until then, I wish all you wonderful people a marvellous day (wherever you are) :-)**


	6. Part VI Change

**Part VI**

 **Change.**

* * *

At four in the morning, everyone was asleep. Marionette was in the bathroom, the light in the bathroom had been burning his eyes so must he pointed his finger at it and it exploded. He stared into the mirror as he pried open his jaw and kept it open, plucking out each tooth. He found relief was washing over him as he yanked each one out with a wet splat sound as blood coated his gums and poured from his lips onto his skin and on the white sink.

He gathered all his teeth into a pile, he counted thirty teeth, his licked his tongue over his bare gums, they were numb, without a single ounce of pain. He looked back at the mirror. Huh, the crack on his cheek had enlarged so much it broke from the confines of the bandaid he slapped on weeks prior, he peeled it away and found a gap in the crack, the inside of his mouth was visible when he closed his lips through the gap. He scooped all his teeth into one of his hands and walked back to his room, he dozed off without feeling the pressure like his teeth would make his gums explode in a big messy blood and spit pile.

At eight, Mangle took Luke and Daisy to the bus stop so they could go to school, she returned home to go into the shower, when she turned on the light and found it didn't response, she told Teddy to get a light bulb. She walked inside and found a great deal of blood surrounding the sink and even a bloodied fingerprint in the mirror, she trusted her insists and ran to Marionette's room, he was asleep with his mouth open and his crack exposing his bare and bloodied gums, his lips were also covered in a thin layer of dried blood. She snuck out quietly and went to the bathroom and took out some cleaning supplies and scrubbed away the blood.

She was going to confront Marionette when he woke up.

* * *

"Do you hear that..?"

"Please god no."

"It's the sweet, sweet sound..."

"No please leave me alone have mercy!"

"OF YOUR ETERNAL SILENCES!"

"Maestro that was magnificent."

"Thanks for your kind compliments Ennard. You truly are what I'd call an amigo."

"Don't flatter yourself Maestro. That's a bad characteristic."

"Screw you."

"Right back at you spider bitch."

* * *

"Why did you pull out your teeth?!"

So much for a confrontation, this escalated quickly into a fight. Teddy, Chi and Bon were getting ready to open and didn't hear Mangle and Marionette in their rooms at the back of the pizzeria. Marionette didn't like how Mangle just bluntly scolded him like she was his mother, he could feel his anger rising with each word coming out of her mouth. She was a bitch who needed to learn her place; he was above her, he was a magical entity, older than her and beyond her physical sense of understanding.

"They were hurting! They felt like needles! I'm feeling a lot better now so leave me alone!"

It was obvious he was a bit better. Mangle took that as a big sign. He did eat breakfast. But he ate a lot more than he usually would.

"You have no right to be even asking this-!" He paused when he noticed something. The light in the room was on, he didn't have a shadow, he knew he wouldn't of course... but neither did Mangle.

" _A man with no shadow has no soul_."

"Mangle... your shadow..."

She froze and her eyes widen.

"You don't have a soul do you...?" He asked, in all of these years he had known her, he never even noticed she didn't have a shadow. It would explain why he never saw her coming when he had seen everyone else coming towards him.

"It's none of your business."

"Mangle I have to ask... was it a demon or were you born this way?"

 _ **She lost it.**_

"How dare you?! Marionette I know what you're saying! I am not a demon! I would never curse you! I had my shadow taken yes!"

"You're a snippy bitch." He remarked in face of her outburst

"Excuse me?" Her face went red hearing that, he could sense her anger but he didn't back down. He wasn't going to be the submissive one anymore, if she wanted a fight, he'd give her one.

"Why are you always yelling at me?! I can sense you don't like me. I'll leave if you want me to."

"I don't want you to leave." Mangle suddenly changed her tone

Marionette didn't and repeated; "I will if you want."

"Don't leave!"

"I was replaced." Marionette covered his eyes with his left hand for a brief moment then placed it down, he now looked less angry and more depressed.

"I understand that." She smiled, and that ate up inside, why was she smiling at him?! He didn't want her to smile, and how could she understand?! She was being the usual idiotic moron that tried to be everyone's friend but instead made Marionette want to question her at every turn because he was always told to never trust anyone completely. He shook his head growling, Mangle went still and her whole posture changed, she seemed more cowardly now but she stayed completely still like a person who knew they would die. He needed to put her back into place.

"HOW CAN YOU?!" He howled as he brought forward his hand and snuck her in her face. He had such force behind it that she crashed onto the floor, unconscious with a heavy thump. His eye widen.

This was the beginning. He just lost control, this was the lead up. Soon he'd be beating her. And... oh... oh god! He could... he would rape her if he got the chance. He imagined him a heartless monster, craving some sort of release from anger, even if it was pleasure, even if she said no. He imagined the scars he could leave all over her body, she'd look at him with tears streaming down her face, in silences, with hurt all her face. He'd never forgive himself if he paralysed her. He was losing everything. He would become a public danger and murder strangers... So many lives could be lost if he didn't fix this... He was not going to have the weight of losing his friends, that was unliveable... he just couldn't...

He couldn't deal...

* * *

Dearest friends.

It is with great regret that I have decided I must depart for the safety of myself and everyone else.

My sickness is in fact a curse most likely caused by demon, which will eat me alive until I forget everyone and everything I love. I have the potential to get stronger and kill you all, so to protect you, I am leaving.

I am not going to return. I have taken food and my possessions, you may allow Yoru to have my room, or even Luke, he always admired my room was the biggest in the pizzeria. I ask that you Theodore inform the CEO that I have formally have quit my job due to personal circumstances, you don't have to inform them about my "Infection".

Do not attempt to find me, I will hurt you if you get near me... Finding me will do more harm than good, which is why I have decided this is the only solution to this.

I will try to cling onto feeling, even if I forget physical memories, I will remember the joy you brought to my lives.

Signed _Marionette_.


	7. Part VII Lost

**Part VIII**

 **Lost**

* * *

Marionette took all his belongings, as soon as he disappeared through the back door, he was greeted with harsh daylight burning into his eyes, he snapped his fingers and commanded the weather to temporarily rain, he formed an umbrella and disappeared, he didn't go towards the roads, in fact, he started to run towards the dense heavy forest near by.

He had been to this forest before, it was always dark, but there were no leafs on the extremely tall slim almost Ebony Black trees. He trudged onwards though thick mud and fallen branches, snapping them along the way. He remembered why he previously came here and it brought back dark memories.

How...

How was he not able to see?

See that something was wrong with him?

See what was wrong when that mother sobbed to him?

If he saw what was wrong with him, he could have prevented the abduction.

If he listened to the mother earlier, he could have found them before it was too late.

If was quicker, he would saved the child.

If he was smarter, he would he stopped his dear friend from running after him.

If he did interfere in anything... The mother would still have a child, a bad person would be behind bars, and his dear old friend, the very friend he trusted so very very much, Spring, would still be alive.

Why did he fail again?

Marionette was intentionally waking through the forest to kill time, it was bright for him to be roaming, he didn't want to be around anyone, it took hours, finally he got to the Junkyard, he wanted to crawl inside a pile of trash and wait until the Scooper was turned on, which would brutally kill him, he deserved it. Nothing was worth it.

He hadn't thought of Spring in so long, but doing so brought tears to his face. He was a coward, he ran away after Spring was gone and went to work for Teddy. He grieved in silences, often while he was working Price Corner and smiling warmly to children, inside, he was screaming and trying to kill himself.

The ground below Marionette's foot crunched as he stood on a metal can, which was easily crumpled under his foot.

He suddenly began to feel paranoid, he looked around the blacken trash mountains and dark sky, with his excellent eyes, he saw nothing, but this curse was starting to give him double vision. Everything split apart into light and dark and spun into a big confusing mass. Marionette had to smack himself in the head repetitively, he then saw his eyesight seemed darker, he then felt something bursting out of his gums inside his mouth, he rolled around his tongue and frozen when he felt three jagged points that were too consistence in a pattern.

He didn't know how, but he was growing new teeth.

A sharper set.

He didn't want that, he looked around on the ground and saw a crowbar on the ground, he lifted up and winced slightly, he knew what was going to do…Would hurt.

He violently slammed the metal object directly into his face. His face crumpled and he felt a sharp unbearable string that made him cry out in agony. He spat out something and saw he had spat out the teeth that just grew inside his mouth. Along with blood.

A lot of blood.

"Fer fack sakes." He spoke weirdly now since he slammed the crowbar onto his own face. He bend down to try and pick up the teeth to observe them, but he jolted upwards when he felt something…..slimy on his bare skin.

That bad feeling had returned.

A pair of arms wrapped around his waist.

"What's a little Essere Magico like you doing roaming here so late at night?"

Essere Magico…..?

Whoever this was knew he had magical abilities, it had to be a demon.

He made a terrible mistake coming here.

"Fack off loser before I send ya to ya gabe."

"Hmm, you speaking quiet peculiarly." The voice remarked.

"Let go dum shit."

"I don't approve of you swearing to me, watch your tongue, I'll tell your Master you're being very rude to me otherwise and they'll punish you."

Marionette tried to get this demon to pull his hands away.

"Wait a minute…. You are unmarked….."

Oh no.

"You don't have a Master."

Shit.

"Oh hoho, that is too good to be true, I feel you energy pouring from you, you're so strong, but you've never had a Master, if you did and ran away, their scent would he been forced bounded to your skin."

"Release me!"

"No, No, that's not how this works. I don't take orders from my own Essere Magico."

My own… Great, this demon wanted to label him his property.

"I dun't belong to anyohe." Marionette snipped back, he tried again to slip away, he was released but the demon grabbed his hand and sprung him back around to face him. He had dark grey ash skin, long taloned hands, he had horns emerging from his head, he had very dark purple hair, he wore a button up red shirt with some black dress pants.

"You do now. I never believed I would be so lucky….. With you by my side, we can rival Lucifer and Beelzebub."

"I repete: I don't belung to anyohe, you demons have a sick sense of propert, I don't belong to anywon, nevah have, nevah will."

"What did to do your face?"

"None of ya damned facking business."

"Did you…. Smash your face up? That's interesting, you know, if you're a masochistic person, I can give you that to satisfy your soul."

"Oah fack you."

"Oooooh, goodie, when?"

He saw a perfect window to snap up an insult, "Nah eveh in ya dreams ya asshole."

He was adruptly slammed to the ground with such speed he felt his whole body shake from the impact, he breathed heavily as he could feel real injuries aching deep in his bones.

"Listen up! You can't speak to your Master that way! I've had enough of this, you will serve me!"

Marionete couldn't even scream, everything hurt too much, then he heard a grunt and felt the grip loosen, he brushed back his hair and tried to catch his breath. He then turned and saw a new problem.

Another one, draped in a black cloak wearing a mask.

"Fuck off and find your own, he's mine, I claimed him."

"This guy isn't your property, and even if he was, he wouldn't be pleased about it."

"You're not listening, didn't Mama teach you to respect your elders?"

"Yes she did but she told me if they are assholes they don't even deserve to be fucked, Virgin."

The demon scowled in low anger, "How… How dare you? Who are you?"

"The guy that's distracting you while I launch an attacking behind you."

"The guy that whaAAAAAATTTTTTTT!?" He started to scream as he questioned, Marionette saw a large metallic like coil shot directly into his chest, effectively killing him, when he ceased moving, he turned into grey dust and disappeared. The coil lowered back into the ground.

The cloaked guy began to approach him, Marionette backed away, he put out his hand in warning, "Get dat hell away from me!"

"You want me to stay here, okay."

Marionette was confused, why he did he stop advancing on him?

"Who dat hell are you?"

"I'm Ennard. I am not like that guy I just killed."

"You're worse."

"No I'm not, I saved you, be grateful."

He'll be grateful when he's dead.

"I'm warning ya, don't come any closer!"

"I said I'm staying here ye moron!" Ennard repeated, "I want to help you. Just a friendly neighbor to ask why you're so far from home."

"I'm nah a kid."

"I see you aren't a child, I use to work with kids so I know a kid when I see one. I would say my part is done because I killed that demon but I sense you're not normal."

"Didn't hear the dumbass say I'm a-"

"Yes I heard him, but I sense something else… an…. Infection."

"You stay away from me you freak!"

"That's offensive to me." Ennard suddenly pointed his finger at him, but Marionette stared at it as he saw it was…. Almost robot like. He would describe it similar to an animatronic exoskeleton, however, it seemed to have almost flawless movement as his first finger pointed at him dead straight and all his remaining finger had curled into his palm, on the tips of the fingers were sharpen points, this thing couldn't be a demon or a machine, it was too intelligent to be either.

"What….. Are you…?"

"Metallo Cablato." He answered. He put up his hand into the moonlight to show him his hand better, Marionette saw it was just thick metallic cord wires all braided, entwined and knotted in various places to shape his hand, he reached to his wrist with his other hand and gently yawned out a small wire, in a big burst, all the wires lost form and hung downwards into the wind, nearly double the length they had been when they formed his hand.

"A c-c-cur-curse?!" Marionette stammered out.

"Nice guess." Ennard spoke, the wires shot upwards into the sky and just randomly began to spasm around freely, "My arms and legs are like a big pile of wires that I have to braid and knot correctly to get a correct shape, otherwise it is a big uncontrolled mess. Like this, I'll need to ask someone to fix this, generally I can't fix it myself. I wanted to prove I'm not a threat." He turned on his foot and walked into the opposite direction, Marionette observed until he stopped.

"Are you coming or not? You'll die out here, I can show you a place where you have a bed and a warm meal."

Was he really telling Marionette to follow him?

He seemed trustworthy, if he had bad intentions, something would have been off with his aura, the only thing that was wrong with him was him covering his body with that cloak, maybe because he looked terrifying, then again, he shivered as he remembered the moment he held that dead child in his arms wailing, feeling like an absolute failure.

"I am not waiting all day, the answer is….?"

Marionette bit his lips, "Lead the way."

* * *

 **I can't say when the next chapter might be out, the device I use now runs out of power quicker than my iPad did (for reference, my iPad generally would have used 30% power for 4 hours, this device I use currently runs out of power after about six hours.) I will say that a new chapter is likely to arrive next month, (I will take down my schedule for now until I can organise a completely new one), rough time period, anywhere between 27th of this month and the 25th of next month. I don't want to have a massive gap between chapters but I am currently working on some new projects (One for a different fandom, a one shot about Nightmare and Nightmarionne, a crossover with other fandom, and a series of one shots that I want out by next month** )


	8. Part VIII Welcome to the Outcasts

**Part VIII**

 **Welcome to the Outcasts.**

* * *

Following Ennard was very detailed involved. He explained how to get where they needed to, they needed to take a secret passage. Marionette followed him as they jumped down a pipe in a garbage pile, they slid down for sometime, Marionette crashed onto a worn out mattress at the end that was covered with dust bunnies and springs were bursting out the sides.

"Need to replace that thing. Welcome to our little hellhole that we call home."

In front of them was a wooden cabin like place, there was a front porch that had children like drawings on the ground done in chalk. There was two milk crates that were obviously used as chairs. The front door looked new, a black ash colour, the windows were all blocked out at the front by what was most likely curtains, he did see a light inside.

Ennard walked up to the front porch and Marionette followed close behind, very unsure, then Ennard grabbed the brass door handle and twisted it downwards, he creaked open and pushed it open, he stood aside. Marionette peered inside and saw the carpet with a door mat that had a few different muddy boot imprints. It took him a few more seconds to realise that Ennard wanted him to step inside. He stepped onto the doormat and Ennard spoke.

"We usually take our shoes off." He gestured to the side of the doormat, where a little area was organised with three wooden panels that had different size shoes, he saw different styles. Ranging from a cute pair of red shiny shoes with a strap in the front and a bow clip. Obviously a child's size. A little girl was most likely the owner. He then saw a massive pair of outdoor rain boots that were coloured dark red. Marionette took off his flat sneakers and gently placed them next to a pair of shoes that were flat white boots with a zip on the side.

Ennard also took off his worn out white shoes, he then hung his cloak on the hook to left, Marionette saw what little skin he had and how metal like steel wires made up most of his body. Did he have organs he wondered? How did he work? Did he feel pain?

He looked further around the room, there was a large red lounge chair, a black and white striped mat in front of a warm cackling fire, there was a mantel that had framed images of what appeared to be children's drawings. It was already obvious a little girl lived here, she must be an activate drawer. There was two beanbags in the corner, a table had been set up near the wall with a radio, a pair of cracked goggles, a single white glove and a raggedy stuffed bear toy had been left on top. There was a staircase to the left, he could see already there were more rooms upstairs. He noticed what was peculiar is that the height of the room seemed to be very high, almost four meters, he could tell in the change in wood colour that it had been extended. A rocking chair was pushed near the fireplace along with three black stools. Must be some people he thought.

He heard a floorboard creak under someone's feet and looked directly in front of him. He saw a little girl peering from the wall that divided this living area and what appeared to be a kitchen.

"It's alright Lefty. He won't hurt you."

Upon hearing that. The little girl ran to Ennard, grabbing his leg. She had dark crimson red hair with yellow eyes, one of them seemed really out of focus. Her dark red hair made her white skin stand out even more, she had a dimple as she smiled upon embracing Ennard. She had a red and white spotted dress with a white bow tied around her waist. She had long white socks on her feet.

"You've been gone for days." She exclaimed as he gently pulled her away, "You brought a new outcast!" She smiled at Marionette.

"Outcast?"

"That's what they call us. Outcasts." Ennard answered, "This is Lefty. We call her that, it's only thing she'll really answer to."

"She... has... Has she forgotten?"

"Yes. Her real name was Lauren Leff. Her nickname was Lefty. She's blind in her left eye."

That's why it seemed out of focus.

"Is your real name Ennard?"

"Yes." He answered, "I never got your name by the-" they heard a clunk sound, Ennard whirled around, he smirked showing he had big sharp teeth.

"Maestro. I know you're there. Quit hiding. We have company. You're so rude."

A man appeared. He was strange. Covering his face with a plain white mask, his hair was pretty crazy, it was white, but it was short and curly, with three different shades of pink highlights with Lavender and bright purple, and a few locks that were a gentle light green. He wore a long red trench coat that extended all the way to the floor and some, it was all tightly buttoned and the belt was firm around his waist. Not seeing emotion in the man's face was a bit creepy.

"Maestro why are you hiding yourself?"

"I'm hideous." He replied in a depressing voice.

"Maestrooooo I like your face!" Lefty cried out, "It's so pretty!"

"He's self conscious because you're here." Ennard explained.

"Well no need. I won't scream. I'm use to seeing grizzly things. So reveal yourself." Marionette spoke.

"Go ahead Maestro." Ennard encouraged. Maestro lifted up his gloved white hand and pulled away his mask and undid his coat, dropping it to the floor, he then completely stood.

Now Maestro stood at a pretty monstrous height. Around 3 meters possibly. His face was a normal shade for a Caucasian person. His eyes were black with a glowing ring green thin pupil, his below his eyes, a green liquid was present, dripping down slowly, he wiped his eyes, he briefly opened his mouth, his teeth were flat but he had two large fangs on his upper and lower jawline, the inside, was dark green, his tongue was long slim and green. He wore a purplish pinkish coat that only came to his waist. His height was explained after that. He had six long robotic spider like legs that were coloured white with three joints, his feet were white and pink striped with three long talons present.

"This is me." He said.

"Magnificent. I haven't been here five minutes and I've already seen such unique abilities and appearances."

"You're... not disturbed..." Maestro spoke in a more garbled voice, obviously confused about Marionette being indifferent to how he appeared.

"No."

"I'm a fucking spider! What are you?!" He barked throwing up his arms.

"Maestro!" Ennard exclaimed covering Lefty's ears.

"Sorry. It's called... Abilità di ragno... my curse. I'm Maestro."

"Real name or alias?"

"Real! I love music! My parents were both musical! My father was German and my mother was Mexican." He nodded, "I miss them though..."

"Anyway. I found what we needed to keep on with the extensions." Ennard told him.

"Great!"

"Will I get my own room?" Lefty asked.

"Soon. You've been asking that question for ages mi dulce niño!" Maestro reached down and petted her head.

"I've never had my own room."

"Standard we all share rooms." Ennard told Marionette.

"So where can he sleep?" Maestro asked.

"I dunno. Maybe in the same room as myself, Fredbear and Brax."

"More of you?" Marionette asked.

"Much more! Where are they all I wonder...? Maestro?" Ennard looked at the man.

"Edd put the triplets down for a nap. He's reading. Cherrie has began dinner. She said we're having lasagna. Brax is having a shower. Plushtrap is with Fredbear reading a story. Knox is digging in the garden for potatoes. Shadow and Noir... I dunno. Maybe the study?"

"Actually... I think we need Plushtrap, can we call him?" Ennard nodded.

"Why?"

"This guy smashed his face for some reason."

Ennard still didn't know why Marionette had damage to his face, it did hurt significantly less but he felt like he might he done some sort of permanent damage. Maestro looked at his face and frowned, "Ouch, looks like you ran face first into a bulldozer."

"Not what happened, but I guess it does appear that way." Marionette had controlled the lisp he gained from smashing his face and spoke much more clearer now.

"I see now." Maestro nodded then reached up, extending his height a little then knocking on the celling above, "Plushtrap! Get down here and bring some medical things!"

Marionette heard a door open and heard thump, thump, someone moving, he looked to the staircase, he guessed Plushtrap was a doctor, he imagined a man in his thirties that looked intelligent. But he saw...

A strange pale green-gold rabbit hopping down the stairs.

It was a normal rabbit despite it seemed to have large and disturbed eyes, a scar on its black nose and the colour.

"What is that?" Marionette asked, "Looks like a crack magician's trick gone extremely wrong."

The rabbit stood up and suddenly morphed into a teenaged boy, with big grey eyes, skin looking almost closer to a pale grey than white, scars slashed all over his exposed skin areas, his hair was the colour he had as fur with two large rabbit ears sitting perfectly on his head that were slightly more pale coloured. He also had clothes on thankfully, a short sleeved white shirt with black shorts.

"I ain't some magician's pet." He spoke.

"What... But... A shape shifter?" Marionette asked.

"Not quiet." Plushtrap shook his head, "Bambola Di Coniglio."

"Rabbit Doll?" Marionette asked.

"I can change into a rabbit yes, but some days when I change, I can't change back for a long time."

"We worry that it'll eventually become permanent and he won't be able to change back." Ennard explained.

"I can also change into a stuffed Rabbit doll that can still talk and walk like a person, but I'm still getting use to transforming into what we call the "half point" between human and complete rabbit."

"How old... Are you...? You look 14..." Marionette spoke absolutely perplexed at this boy.

"Physically I'm stuck as a 14 year old, I am actually in reality meant to be 37 years old. What happened to your mouth?"

"He didn't tell us." Ennard explained while Maestro rubbed his eyes again, trying to clear away any goop.

"Use blue moss on your gums, it'll make your teeth grow back, your face can be enchanted back to normal." Plushtrap pointed his finger at him then swiped it left, Marionette felt like he had been slapped but his face felt better.

"Magic user?"

"Yup." Plushtrap answered.

"Can we go and see what Cherrie's up to?" Lefty asked.

"Sure. She might need our help." Ennard took her hand and walked over into the kitchen. It was pretty clean and basic, with an oven and stove, with a fridge and a cabinet. Over the stove was a woman who looked in her late twenties. She had short straight dark blonde hair with eyes that looked like amethysts, she was wearing a stained apron over her dark blue shirt and long dark green skirt. She was humming a bit.

"New person?" She asked, "Name's Cherrie. Only adult female here. Besides little Lefty here, who is a cutie pie."

"Thanks Mama Cherrie." Lefty gave a smile and cuddled against her leg, Cherrie however lifted her up and gave her a proper hug in her arms.

"Anytime sweetheart. I have a special task for you actually. I need you to go find Uncle Knox in the garden. Tell him I need some tomatoes."

"Okay Mama Cherrie!" Lefty was eager to have a task, Cherrie gently put her down and she raced out the room.

"Eager ball of lightning..." Cherrie muttered, "I'll need to make more than I thought since you're here now Stranger."

"Why?" Marionette asked.

"No one tell ye? You need to change. Like tonight at lease."

Marionette's heart sank.

"No I can't- I'll attack you and everyone-"

"Whatever you read ain't true. Ya know, before I was cursed. I was actually blind and deaf. Edd had to guide me every which way. Then he had his kids... now I have my sight and hearing. So it can give you new abilities."

"Besides it'll get more painful if you don't accept the changes soon." Maestro chimed in, "Better to do it sooner rather than later. I can stay up and play music if y'all want."

"No that might distract him. I'll be up with him tonight." Ennard told him, "You get to sleep. You need it."

"I can't accept it."

"We all did. All of us here." Cherrie 'tssked' in a disapproving matter, "It'll be more painful if you don't accept it. Don't fight it. If you forget anything, we can remind you... but it's likely you won't forget, the only ones who have truly lost their memories are Lefty and Edd. But I got Edd to remember, so the memories can recover."

Marionette thought about it for a while. He did value some memories of his friends, he saw flashes of everyone he held dear but didn't even remotely deeply trust them enough to tell him some of his darkest secrets.

Teddy. Bon. Chi. Mangle. Billy. Daisy.

Then he saw Springs and had to fight away tears. He still didn't completely accept that he could have done nothing to change the events of that day.

"Dinner will be ready later." Cherrie told them which brought him back from wherever he had been, he saw Maestro gave him a kind of twisted yet friendly smile down at him.

* * *

 **Next part: Part IX Mystique.**

 **Estimated time for it to be published: At this point, Part IX is still going through the final writing stage where I'm concluding it and beginning to edit it. I am editing other projects so I can say the earliest you could see it is the 31st of this month, the latest will be the 17th of August. Until then, thanks for reading!**


End file.
